http://www.theguardian.com/politics/201 ... e-spending

Looks bad when you've spent years being a hypocrite.

All politicians are hypocrites.

So, if I'm reading what Farage says is right, the allowance appears to be slipping into UKIP campaigning territory. If true, this means that the EU is funding party activities,which I don't think the allowance is meant to be for:

I don't think you can really distinguish. If you give them money to pay for A, they can use the money they would have used to pay for A to pay for B instead. So even saying "don't spend this on political activity" doesn't really help. You're increasing their overall income and therefore the funds they have available for campaigning, directly or indirectly.

This is why MEP's should have to claim with receipts rather than be given allowances.

I have more of a bugbear with the pension that some politicians get more than their stipends. Being a politician should not be a job.

I don't mind them getting a pension. But it should be at 65 (or whatever age the state pension kicks in these days) like every one else and be based on the number of years they served.
Five years as an MP in your 40's? Then you should get close to bugger all.

I have this quaint notion that being a politician should be treated almost as if one were to enter a monastic community. You chef your life at the door, and don’t get it back until you’re done. For your pains, you’d get a modest apartment (possibly in the old GLC building), and a staffed office - the staff being paid from a central fund. You travel expenses would be at regular public transport rates. You would get a salary, but it would be nothing extraordinary. Pension contributions would be paid in, but only for the duration of your employment as an MP.

On leaving, you would be allowed to return to your own work, but there would be strict rules about what kind of job your could take on for ten years. Those restrictions would be based on your posts, meetings with lobbyists, etc.. Under this scheme, for example, a health minister would not be allowed to work for a private medical company - either as an adviser, director or general employee. In short - your life as a politician should not be a stepping stone for your private career following your public service.

In my more “this really grinds my gears” moments, I feel that that a ex politicians should be shipped off to somewhere like Portmerion and not be allowed to leave.

The point that's always brought up here which, sadly, I must agree with is your scheme would be a massive disincentive for anyone smart enough to earn a decent living in the 'real world' to become an MP. Quite a lot of the problems we have (IMO) are because we have a HoC stuffed full of career politicians. Why would anyone who could hold down an interesting, vaguely lucrative career elsewhere want to become an MP on those terms? I know I wouldn't. Being an MP has to be a reasonably attractive 'job' not just a vague vocation that provides a hairshirt and not much else. OK, it's swung way too far the other way currently but still, turning being an MP into a rubbish job will not get us good MPs.

As Douglas Adams kind of suggested, the last people we want governing us are the group of people whose only interest is in doing so.

Invertly, if the benefits are rubbish you may get people who are actually interested in making a difference instead of career politicians?

Or, as I read somewhere (and I forget where now), it’s like Jury Service. You get called up to serve as an MP. A totally random selection of people picked by lottery.

Only the people who are interested in making a difference but can't make one as a lawyer, doctor, teacher...

My father is a teacher and local councillor (opposition, unpaid). He's been an unpaid councillor for 20 years because he cares about how much council tax is charged, how it used, and everytime they've ran, it's been incredibly difficult to find 28 people out of 3000 voters who are similarly interested to form a list for the elections. So the list tends to be formed if teachers, lawyers, civil servants.
Sadly I think not many people are interested in politics at all :S.

It's a case of the system having been clogged with sh1t for so long that Joe Average doesn't take any real notice. I dearly want a 'none of the above' option so that it might even be worth my time going into a polling station.